Retcon The Past
by Aloria
Summary: What if Rezo came up with a spell that could dump someone into an alternate dimension of their world? Zelda is the unlucky one to find out, giving the Slayers the chance to redo the past.
1. Default Chapter

Slayers Switch

Slayers Switch

Yes, fear, ANOTHER Slayers fic from me. You all probably wish I'd just stop it ^_^ but I'm not going to because I'm obsessed with Zelgadis! More information about me then you wanted to know, probably. No, it's not a rehash of 'The Slayers', its going to be different. More of a 'What If' story here.

Now for the fic!

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Zelda swung her sword at her invisible enemy, parrying and thrusting at the air before her, swinging around to face a different direction. Her short dark violet hair was wet with sweat and stuck out in all directions from her head, her bangs having fallen forward into her face.

As she moved, the sweater she tied around her neck came loose, falling from her shoulders to the ground. She didn't pause to pick it up, instead continued practicing, working harder and faster. "Strong!" she chanted to herself, "I have to be strong!" it wasn't just physical strength she wanted, she wanted emotional strength. Zelda hoped that if she were strong enough her grandfather/great grandfather Rezo would let her come with him when he traveled.

She hated being without him, he was all she had and staying with people she hardly knew frightened her. Zelda swung her sword hard, slamming the blade into a tree, lodging it firmly. "Ohh damn!" she cried, trying to pry the blade from the tree, putting her feet against the wood and gripping the hilt hard.

There was a soft laugh behind her that startled Zelda before she recognized who it was. "Young girls should not say such words," Rezo chastised, though he hardly meant it. She turned around with a smile, stepping forward to take his hand and let him feel her smile, let him know she was happy to see him. He moved his hand before she could reach it. "Do you truly want to be strong, Zelda?" Rezo asked.

The tone in his voice sent shivers down her spine and she watched as the Red Priest moved his staff, pointing it at her. Zelda had never experienced fear like she was at that moment. What scared her more was the fact that it was Rezo who was causing the fear.

Rezo raised his voice in a chant, the magic released with the words snapping around him then moving along his staff in waves of electricity. It collected at the jewel on the top of his staff, causing it to glow deep red then spark, sending the bolt straight into Zelda's chest. She screamed in pain and terror, collapsing. Her skin itched but it was too painful to scratch, she felt as if her insides were being torn into shreds. Again she screamed, and at least three more times, writhing on the ground before the pain subsided, leaving her gasping and shuddering.

Slowly, she lifted her head to stare at her grandfather/great grandfather's feet. The one she'd always trusted had just done something incredibly painful to her. "W-what...did I do?" she begged, "How did I upset you?" tears came to her eyes as she crawled closer to him to grip his ankle. "I only wanted to be strong so that I could come with you like Eris does. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to displease you!"

"You have not displeased me, Zelda, I have given you what you wanted. Now you may come with me," Rezo said gently, a slight smile touching his lips. Zelda lifted her head slowly to look at his face, his closed eyes and open expression.

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

Rezo's smile widened slightly, becoming different and it frightened Zelda to see such an expression on her beloved grandfather/great grandfather's face, "I have made you into a Chimera, Zelda. One-third golem, one-third lesser Mazoku, one-third human. The best of each. In return, Zelda, you must find something for me. You must find a statue. In this statue is the Philosopher's stone."

Zelda was too shocked to answer, she simply let go of Rezo's ankle, backing up. She watched as her grandfather/great grandfather turned, walking through the forest without making a sound other then the clanking of the rings on his staff that helped him find his way. Something to do with listening to echoes, Rezo had told her before when she had asked.

Zelda lifted her hands to look at them, her whole body shaking, "A...Chimera?" she touched her face, feeling the stones embedded across her brow and around her eyes, along her jaw and chin. Her hands trailed down her neck then she pulled her shirt out to look down it. "Oh.... no... no... please...let this be a dream. Please let me wake up." Tears were falling between the stones under her eyes. "Why did he do this? I'm only thirteen! I'm only thirteen!" she sobbed the last sentence, finally letting go of her shirt and putting her hands on the ground. "I wanted to get married, I wanted to have children... I just wanted to be with you, Rezo... why did you do this?"

The girl turned Chimera stumbled to her feet, falling back against the tree in which her sword was still embedded. "I'll get what you wanted, Rezo..." she murmured, "But I won't give it to you without something in return..." She lifted her hand, grabbing the hilt of the sword and easily pulling it from the tree.

* * *

Two years had passed, Zelda was glad to note that she had grown taller even if the more female aspects of her body hadn't grown as well. She wasn't sure if she wanted those who were under her command to know she wasn't a guy like they thought. Zelda did her best to cover up the fact that she still had 'That Time of the Month' by simply making it chances for her underlings to prove themselves to her. Thankfully, no one knew the reason why she sometimes lost her temper over small things. They chalked it up to her continual anger over being turned into a Chimera. They called her Zel-sama, out of fear and respect. She hated it.

Zelda was standing at the window of one of the tower rooms in the abandoned keep which she'd claimed as her base to track down Leo Inverse, supposed greatest sorcerer to ever live, truly the most girly looking boy to ever live. People believed that Zelda was a man, but they couldn't believe that Leo really was male.

"Zel-sama," Zolf called from the door he'd just opened, he was covered in bandages due to the recent attack on a bandit fortress where the Orihalcon statue they were looking for was.

"Yes Zolf?" Zelda replied, turning her back on thoughts of jumping out the window just to see if she'd live, her light violet wires that had become her hair was still stuck in the same position it had been in when she was changed. She didn't bother to try to fix it, it kept half her face hidden and made her seem more male.

"Leo Inverse and his companion Glory Gabriev are on the move, once more," Zolf reported.

"We shall go to him and try to purchase the statue, if that doesn't work, then we'll just have to kill him."

"Yes Zel-sama," Zolf replied and bowed, leaving the room. Zelda turned, picking up her sword and tying it to her belt then picked her cloak up from the bench that had served as her bed for the past three weeks. Tying the strings of the silvery grey cloak, she headed out the door, Zolf falling in behind her.

* * *

"Damn! It didn't work," Zolf snarled, slamming his fist into his hand.

"That would be an understatement," Zelda murmured under her mask, eyes hidden in the shadows of her hood.

* * *

"We might wake up dead!" Glory exclaimed, looking at her companion, Leo Inverse.

"I know his type. He says he'll wait till morning, then he'll wait till morning. Don't worry about it, Glory!" Leo smirked, his short red hair falling in his eyes from over the black strip of cloth, which was tied around his forehead. "Go get some sleep, okay?"

"Sure, sure," Glory agreed and left, closing the door behind her with a sigh, "That guy scares me sometimes," she muttered.

* * *

Rezo smiled, "Zelda, I'd like you to come with me," he said softly, turning and walking down a hall in the abandoned keep. Rodimus had reported Rezo arriving only an hour before she and Zolf returned. Zelda glanced around to see if any of her underlings had heard the Red Priest call her that but followed the blind man.

"I can't help but think that your talents could be used elsewhere, Zelda," Rezo said gently, leading the way into a large empty room, possibly a dining room. Zelda noticed Eris off to the side, dressed in her usual white robes with a white cloak pulled over them. On the floor was drawn a magic circle. Zelda felt her stomach clench in fear.

"I have appointed someone else to take over getting the statue. Your mission is much more important and dangerous. Please, step into the circle." Rezo gestured accurately, though his eyes were closed still. Zelda carefully placed her feet to keep from disturbing the white dust that the circle was drawn with. When she was in the center she stopped, looking at Rezo, lips pressed firmly together under the mask she'd neglected to remove.

Fear pressed itself firmly in her mind as she saw Rezo grip his staff in both hands, chanting the words of a spell she did not recognize. Something occurred to her then, Rezo had not told her what her mission was.

Electricity crackled around Zelda then, snapping up to connect with a point far above her head in the exact center of the circle. She only hoped that this was going to turn her back into a human. With a abruptness that startled Zelda, the glowing ball above her head snapped a bolt down through her body.

Zelda couldn't bite back the horrible scream that disturbed the birds outside the keep. Dimly, she saw Zolf and Rodimus burst into the room. Then her sight faded, she collapsed in a heap. Rezo smiled almost sadistically.


	2. I'm terrible at naming things sometimes.

Zelgadis's head snapped up when he heard the terrible scream echo though the forest

Zelgadis's head snapped up when he heard the terrible scream echo though the forest. He knew they were near the keep in which he'd stationed himself to get the Orihalcon statue, he'd simply neglected to inform anyone else of that fact. He didn't want to face the memories of his best friends Zolf and Rodimus.

Lina and Gourry stopped in their struggle for the chicken breast to look at Zelgadis and Amelia. "What was that?" Lina asked around her mouthful of chicken.

"It sounds like a girl in trouble!" Gourry exclaimed. The only thing that could drag him away from food was the prospect of saving a luscious babe from peril. Zelgadis shook his head.

"It came from Mistwatch."

Lina blinked, "Isn't that where you took me when you captured me?" Her answer was a simple nod.

Amelia jumped to her feet, "Why are we just sitting here?! Someone's in trouble!"

"The screaming has stopped, so she might be dead already," Zelgadis pointed out.

Lina rubbed her hands together, "Or they could have just gagged her. But if someone's in trouble, that means its probably bandits! Lets go take care of them!" She got to her feet and with Gourry beside her, they rushed off in the direction of the keep. Amelia called for them to wait up and ran after. With a sigh, Zelgadis got to his feet, dumping dirt over the fire. It just wasn't good to leave a flame unwatched.

* * *

Zelgadis hated being back where it had all began to end for him, at least, for his friends Zolf and Rodimus. He paced through the darkness, a lighting spell resting in his palm. The dust was undisturbed, he had the feeling that whoever had screamed wasn't here.

"I found someone!" Lina yelled from the old dining room. As Zelgadis walked, he noted that the place was in even worse repair then when he was here. He came upon Lina crouching in front of something, he couldn't see beyond her cape and back. She glanced over her shoulder at him, "Zel, you might want to look at this..." Lina said, her eyes were wide and he could tell that it was something highly disturbing because she was being serious.

He stalked up beside her, seeing someone curled on their side, a hood covering their face. Lina reached out and pulled the hood back. Silvery violet hair glittered in the light, almost like metal. Zelgadis crouched, putting one knee on the floor to steady himself as he pushed the person over enough that he could see the face entirely.

Amelia gasped behind them, informing Lina that the princess had come finally. Zelgadis had known she'd been there. "He looks exactly like you, Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia whispered.

"Oi! He does, Zel! I didn't know you had a twin!" Gourry exclaimed.

"I don't," Zelgadis said firmly. He tossed his light spell into the air and took hold of the mask covering the lower portion of the stranger's face, pulling it down and forcing their mouth open.

"What are you doing, Zel?" Lina asked, frowning slightly at him.

"Checking for something....." Zelgadis froze when he found exactly what he was looking for. The second top front tooth on the right was chipped, making another almost canine like point.

"What's wrong Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked, seeing the look on his face. The Chimera looked at his new friends then pulled back his own lip to show them the same tooth was chipped. "Its....exactly the same!" Amelia exclaimed, looking from the stranger to Zelgadis, "How can that be?!"

"What?" Gourry asked and Lina pounced on him, bashing his head with her fists.

"You stupid Jellyfish! Zelgadis's tooth is chipped and so is that other guy's! The same way!!" Lina shrieked, unaware that the stranger's eyelids were fluttering.

"He's waking up!" Amelia exclaimed.

* * *

Zelda felt sick to her stomach and people were yelling all around her, voices she didn't recognize.

"He's waking up!" a young girl said happily though managing to sound worried at the same time. Zelda's eyes flickered open and she found she was looking up at a young girl with large blue eyes. "Are you okay? Was it you who screamed like that?"

"You sounded like a girl if it really was you who screamed," said a tall blonde man. Zelda slowly sat up, the blue-eyed girl helping her.

Putting a hand to her forehead, she groaned softly. "You're going to be alright! We'll keep you safe!"

"I don't think he needs to be kept safe," another voice said off to her side. Zelda slowly lifted her head to look around. Finding herself sitting in the dining room she'd just been in, but it looked unused, unlike before. There was no magic circle in white powder on the floor and she wasn't in the company of Rezo, Zolf, Rodimus, or Eris. She was, however, in the company of a guy who looked like Glory Gabriev, a girl who looked like Leo Inverse, a girl who looked vaguely familiar, and some other man who had pulled his hood over his face and was currently standing at the edge of the light.

"Something....is not right," Zelda said softly, the only thing she could figure out in all this mess.

"You got that right! Where the hell do you come from?!" the Leo Inverse Look Alike shouted, making Zelda's headache worse. "Why do you look exactly like Zel?"

"Zel? I am Zel," Zelda said, completely confused.

"No you're not!" exclaimed the girl with blue eyes.

Zelda's annoyance flashed, "I am. I'm Zelda Graywords."

"Zelda? That's a female name," said the man in beige off in the shadows.

Zelda blushed, "So my parents couldn't tell the difference."

"Zelda was your mother's name."

Zelda surged to her feet to accost the man who actually knew quite a bit about her but swayed somewhat. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Oi, he really does act like Zel," the Glory Gabriev Look Alike said.

"I AM ZEL!" Zelda shouted, "Tell me what's going on!"

Leo Inverse the female smiled, "We were hoping you could tell us that. Where's the bandits?"

"Bandits?" Zelda asked, having to keep her feet somewhat apart in more of a fighting stance to stay on her feet at all.

"Yeah! We heard you scream. Why'd you scream?" the blue-eyed girl asked, bouncing around from behind Zelda.

"You screamed didn't you?" the man in beige asked softly. There was something familiar about the way he was standing, his voice, his manner. Zelda couldn't put her finger on it. It was starting to drive her crazy.

"C'mon! Just spit it out already! I want the treasure!" Leo-girl bounced from foot to foot.

"There were no bandits." Zelda finally pieced together.

"What were you screaming for?" Glory-man asked, blinking.

Zelda felt as if the floor were spinning under her, "Rezo.. cast a spell on me..."

"Rezo?! I thought we killed him!" Leo-girl exclaimed.

"What kind of spell?" the man in beige asked, holding his hand up to Leo-girl.

Zelda shook her head, "I don't know..." she put a hand to her face again, realizing that her mask and hood were off. "All I know.. is that it required a magic circle..." she shook her head, swaying again, she felt like heaving her guts but didn't want to do it in front of people she didn't know. She realized she was giving information away and clamped her mouth shut, almost on her tongue.

"What was happening when Rezo cast that spell?" the man in beige asked, taking over the interrogation.

"I don't see why I have to answer anything-" Zelda started then watched as the man came forward, pulling his hood down. Another wave of nausea washed over her and the room twisted. She realized too late that it wasn't the room twisting, but her falling.


	3. WAI another chapter!

"Give her room," Zelgadis commanded as Gourry laid the fainted Zelgadis Look Alike on the floor

"Give her room," Zelgadis commanded as Gourry laid the fainted Zelgadis Look Alike on the floor.

"Her?" Lina asked.

"You didn't notice, Lina? She said her name was Zelda."

Lina shook her head, "So? She said her parents couldn't tell the difference."

"Zelda was her mother's name. Zelgadis was my father's name. Amelia, give her a healing spell."

Amelia nodded, murmuring the words of the spell then holding her hands over Zelda's head. Lina put her hand on her hip. "Do you know what happened?"

"I can give a fair guess," Zelgadis replied, folding his arms. "Rezo was looking into alternate dimensions, he once said something about it to me, but only in passing. I think in her world, he managed to make a spell that would send someone into another dimension."

"But why would he send you...er her?" Lina asked.

"Because, Rezo had always known I was going to kill him someday for what he did to me, he must have felt threatened by her enough to want her out of the way." Zelgadis slowly paced around the room as he spoke.

Lina put a hand to her chin, "I see..."

"I'm hungry." Lina sprang upon Gourry, beating the crap out of him for not paying attention.

Finally, Lina settled down and smoothed the wrinkles out of her shirt, "We'll camp here tonight. Zel, you take care of... your double here."

Zelgadis nodded, "Gourry, help me?" the blonde swordsman nodded and caught up Zelda's arms, her male self catching her feet. Amelia wrapped the Chimera woman's cape over her stomach to keep the men from tripping over it.

* * *

Zelda slowly woke, realizing that she was laying on the bench in Mistwatch, "It was a dream," she said, sitting up. "Damn crazy dream..." she shook her head and pushed the blanket off her, glancing at the window. "Damn! Almost afternoon?! They're all going to think I'm lazy now and I'll never get their respect back." She got to her feet, reaching for her sword to put it on her belt. Her hand closed over nothing.

Looking, she saw that it was not where she normally put it. Her eyes narrowed and she got up, looking around the empty room. "I've still got my spells," she muttered and pulled her cape on.

Slamming open the door, she stalked down the stairs, her mask covering the lower portion of her face. She could smell something cooking. Something wasn't right. Things looked different. There were leaves on the stairs, blown in seemingly overnight. She briskly walked into the main hall, expecting to find Zolf and Rodimus playing a game of poker.

She tripped on her own foot on the last stair, falling flat on her face. "Oh ...by... L-sama...." she said softly from the floor.

"She's awake," the man in beige said with slight amusement. He and the blue-eyed girl were sitting where Zolf and Rodimus should have been, the man teaching the girl to play poker. The Leo-girl and Glory-man were fighting, or more like, the Leo-girl was bashing the Glory-man's brains out, yelling at him about being an idiot.

All motion stopped when the man in beige spoke and they all stared at Zelda, her staring back at them. Finally, Zelda collected herself, getting to her feet, "Fallen into the hands of the enemy... you can't kill me unless you have the Sword of Light," she said, lifting her chin.

"We don't intend to kill you." The man in beige got to his feet. Zelda watched as a male version of herself walked toward her, holding her sword, an exact copy of it hanging from his belt. "Rezo has transported you into a different dimension where you are me."

Zelda was silent for a long moment, staring at his face, into his eyes. Finally, she took her sword from him and tied it to her belt. "So if we're the same, how do I get back to my world to kill him?"

The man in beige shrugged, "I don't know."

"Tch, of course you wouldn't," Zelda said and got a smirk in return. "No! I didn't mean it that way! Damn..." He laughed softly at her.

"Come join our card game?" he offered.

"Fine," Zelda muttered, going over to where she'd sat so many times before.

"I'm Zelgadis," he said as he dealt her in.

"Zelda, though... I have the feeling I said too much last night," Zelda replied, spreading her hand in front of her.

"You weren't feeling well," Zelgadis replied.

"NO GOURRY! THAT'S MINE!"

"But you weren't eating it!"

"Jellyfish brains! I'm going to have to teach you a lesson you'll never forget! FIREBALL!"

Zelda winced, looking back. "They're always like that," Zelgadis said softly.

"Makes me wonder what they're like in my world..." Zelda replied.

"Who are they in your world?" the blue-eyed girl asked, looking up at Zelda.

"Leo Inverse, the supposed greatest black sorcerer in the world, the most girly looking boy in the known universe, and Glory Gabriev, some island yokel who thinks girls can become traveling mercenaries, even if she is pretty good with a sword."

Zelgadis chuckled softly, "Meet Lina Inverse, the supposedly greatest sorceress in the world. The girl who defeated a piece of Shabranigdo, blasted Zanafar reborn, hosted the Lord of Nightmares to vaporize Hellmaster Phibbrizo, lived after fighting Gaav the Demon Dragon King, and gave the final strike to the Overworld beast-demon Darkstar combined with Vorphied and an ancient dragon named Valgaav reborn as a Mazoku in Gaav's command."

Zelda stared at Zelgadis. "That's not possible," she said coolly, though there was more then a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"I was there," he replied just as coolly, playing his turn.

"So was I!" the girl said.

"And who are you?" Zelda asked, fixing the girl with a stare that could possibly freeze alcohol.

"I'm princess Amelia Wil Tessa Seyruun," she said, "I fight with Ms. Lina to spread Justice!"

Zelda winced. "_That's_ where I've seen you before."

"So who am I in your world?" Amelia asked.

"Prince Andrew Wil Terre Seyruun, self proclaimed warrior of Justice at the tender age of thirteen," Zelda replied, playing her turn absently.

"I'm sixteen now," Amelia said. "I just had my birthday. Daddy threw a costume party for me so Zelgadis could come."

Zelgadis and Zelda exchanged a long look. "Dear Cephied," Zelda muttered. "I'm really starting to fear what would have become of me..." She shook her head, "What about the man?"

"That's Gourry Gabriev, ex-current wielder of the Sword of Light. He let the Overworlders have it after we defeated DarkStar. I still don't know why," Zelgadis said. "It would have come in handy."

"Maa, maa! TWO of you, Zelgadis? Have you been copying yourself without us knowing?"

Zelda jumped to her feet, dashing away and pointing her sword firmly at the purple haired priest. "Where the hell did you come from?"

The man opened one eye, smirking, "That- is a secret," he said.

"Answer to your question, Zelda, that is Xelloss, Mazoku General-Priest of Greater Beastmaster." Zelda's sword tip dipped a moment as she almost fell on her face.

"WHAT?!"

"Xelloss!" Lina exclaimed, jumping on the priest's back and wrapping her arms around his neck so tight to choke him. "Nice to see you!"

"Lina-san! Why are you choking me! I've done nothing!" he exclaimed.

"Oh- I just know that you're going to do something, so this is in advance." Lina slipped off his back and looked at the cards Zelda had scattered. "Hey- all four kings and ace of diamonds!" she said.

Zelgadis tossed his cards down, "She wins."

Amelia pouted, "I haven't won once yet!"

"Don't worry, you just started learning."

Zelda was about to say something when the air rippled, coming from the dining room. Two voices screaming in unison, from pain, extreme pain. Zelda jumped over Amelia easily and dashed toward the dining room, everyone else behind her. Coming to a dead stop in the doorway, Zelda stared at what a flickering scene of Rezo chanting a spell, Eris standing off to the side once again. In the center of the circle were Zolf and Rodimus. The spell finished with a thunderclap, leaving the wizard and weapons master crumpled on the floor.

Zelda hurried over, casting a healing spell on the wizard first, simply because he was the first one she reached. "Damn Rezo," she muttered under her breath. Zolf opened his eyes and blinked.

"Zel-sama, you're alright!" he gripped her arm as his worry over his lord eased. Zelda flashed a brief smile and cast the healing spell on Rodimus.

"Of course I am. You might want to brace yourself for a bit of a shock though," she replied softly. Her back was blocking the view of the Slayers standing in the door still. "You're not where you think you are. This is a whole new world where I already exist."

Zelgadis slowly paced forward past Lina. "I am Zelgadis," he said softly and Zelda stood, the difference was somewhat obvious. He was taller then her. "You won't be meeting yourselves here, however. They were killed. That, however, is a long story. That has lasted two years for me."

"You're... two years older then Zel-sama?" Zolf asked, pulling the bandages off his face.

"Yes. ...Zel-sama is around sixteen where I am eighteen," Zelgadis explained.

"How did you get Rezo to cast the spell again?" Zelda asked, helping Rodimus to stand.

"He asked us last night if we wanted to join you. Of course we said yes. You're our lord," Rodimus said, his icy blue eyes staring at her.

Zelda blushed, "Please... I- I'm flattered and all, but- I- I didn't exactly lie, but I never set any of you straight... I'm ... not a boy..."

"What?!" Zolf asked, staggering back. Rodimus didn't look so shaken.

"I never was, never will be. Please, just call me Zelda," she continued to blush.

"This is all well and fine, but I really have the feeling something bad is going to happen," Lina interrupted.

They all looked at the redheaded sorceress, "And how do you figure that, Ms. Lina?" Amelia asked, eyes wide.

"Because... Rezo of that world has a way to send people here. He might be thinking about sending Shabranigdo here when he's resurrected... Even worse, Shabranigdo sends himself after he's destroyed that world."

"Shit," Zelgadis said softly, "Too bad YOU blew Rezo's laboratory into dust, Lina, otherwise, we could have gone there..."

"I did NOT blow it into dust! That was Kopii Rezo and Zanafar's fault! Then it was Phibbrizo's fault after that!" Lina retorted, about to bash Zelgadis's head.

"It doesn't matter who blew it up, what matters is that it's gone," Zelda pointed out.

Lina rubbed her forehead, "Maaan! This sucks, I already can barely handle one manic-depressive Chimera, now I've got two!"

Zelgadis put his hand on Zelda's wrist as she went to cut Lina's head off. "Lina, don't be so rude," he chided her. "Go find some bandits to blow up, I'm sure you'll feel better after that."

Lina smiled suddenly, "Oh that's a good idea Zel!" she skipped off. Gourry scratched his head.

"Isn't that... Glory Gabriev?" Zolf asked.

"No... that's Gourry Gabriev. Everything seems to be switched around here. I'm male here, Leo's female, but you really couldn't tell the difference in the first place, Glory's male, and Prince Andrew is now Princess Amelia."

Amelia blinked a few times, "Are you really Mr. Zelgadis's old friends?" she asked.

Zelgadis sighed, "No Amelia, they're Zelda's old friends, they don't know me even if I have the same past as Zelda. Go help Gourry, Amelia." The princess pouted a little but scampered off after the blonde swordsman. "And just when I thought I'd gotten over your deaths you show up again," Zelgadis muttered, stalking away.

Zelda rubbed the back of her neck, "Am I really manic-depressive?" she asked rhetorically.


	4. La la la- connect the dots.

"You know, Zel-s

"You know, Zel-s...Zelda... I knew all along," Rodimus said softly as they sat in the main hall of Mistwatch, waiting for Lina, Gourry, and Amelia to return from blasting bandits. They could hear the fireballs and terrified screams from where they were sitting sharing a late lunch.

Zelda lifted her eyes from picking at her smoked meat. "You were pretty good at acting though," Rodimus continued. "I only found out because I ..." he coughed, "Remember when I walked in on you bathing?" Zelda blushed deeply. "That's when I suspected anyway.. I didn't see anything, it was just the way you swept up your cloak that reminded me of a girl... Then I started watching for other things."

Zolf was staring at the one he'd called 'Zel-sama' for so long, still somewhat in shock. "I can see why you hid it though," Rodimus continued, "Dilgier would never have followed a woman and neither would have a lot of the other men. Besides, you would have had Noonsa on you in seconds." Lina came in through the door, then, having just Rei Winged back from the bandit hide out.

"EeEEW! Noonsa the fishman?!" Lina exclaimed, overhearing their conversation, or at least part of it. "Zelgadis! I STILL can't believe you let that disgusting thing kiss me!"

Zelgadis's soft laughter echoed through the main hall, "I thought it was rather funny."

"You WOULD!" she snapped.

"Get any good treasure?" Zelgadis changed the subject.

"OUUU! Yes!" she pulled something out of her cloak, "I even saved this neat pendant for you!" she tossed it to him. Zelgadis caught it deftly, looking at the ruby set into gold with a gold chain. "I could feel the power on it, but I don't know what it does so you can have it. But if it does something neat like throws fireballs I want it back."

"Whatever Lina," Zelgadis replied, brushing past her, looking somewhat annoyed.

Zelda glowered, "If she starts to treat me like that, I'm going to slit her throat in the night," she muttered under her breath.

"I HEARD THAT!" Lina turned, pointing at Zelgadis, "You did NOT just say I had breasts the size of my brain! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!" she shrieked, throwing a fireball at him. He dodged, "Hey! No fair! Stand still so I can hit you!" Again Zelgadis dodged, bounding away from every fireball.

Zelda got to her feet, stalking toward Lina and reaching out, grabbing the much shorter girl's hair, yanking her around, "Would you stop that before this whole place falls down on top of us!" She shook Lina then let the girl go. "Just LOOK at the support beams of the ceiling! They're NOT going to withstand an attack!"

Lina looked upward, seeing that Zelda was right but then glared at the Chimera girl. "Touch me again and I'll Dragon Slave you to oblivion."

Rodimus and Zolf stood, "Do that, and _we'll_ have to do something about it," Zolf said firmly, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Then Gourry would be in on it and with Gourry, Amelia, am I the only one who's sane around here?" Zelgadis asked, sitting in one of the high windows, looking down at them with a slight smirk.

"As I recall, _YOU_ started her throwing fireballs," Zelda snapped back at him.

"Mr. Zelgadis, Ms. Zelda, please stop arguing! It's not good to argue with yourself!" Amelia blinked a few times at what she'd just said, having heard what was going on when she and Gourry walked though the large rotted doors of the keep.

"Of course it is!" Xelloss interrupted, off to the side, sitting on the floor, his staff tucked under one arm and drinking tea from a cup and saucer that appeared from nowhere. 

Zelda stood with her eyes closed for a long moment before stalking past Lina and out the door. "Hey! Where are you going?!" Lina yelled but didn't get a reply.

"She's just going to go sit somewhere, Lina, let her be," Zelgadis called down from his perch, one foot hanging off the edge, his back against the wall his other knee pulled near his chest, arm loosely placed on it. "I'm sure you'd be upset too."

Lina glowered, "Well you tell her to keep her hands off me."

"I'm not her master, I'm only myself. I'll warn her, but I won't keep her from doing what she wants," Zelgadis told the redhead.

"Well you're useless!"

"Not as useless as Xelloss in the kitchen," Zelgadis replied calmly with a slight smirk. 

"Maa, I have to agree with him!" Xelloss answered, his eyes closed and smirking as well. A fireball blasted the place he was sitting just after he disappeared once more.

* * *

Zelda was sitting on a branch of a tree definitely that had grown during the two years that Zelgadis hadn't been to Mistwatch. Her right foot was hanging off the side of the branch, her other knee tucked near her chest, arm loosely resting on it. She had her head leaned back against the trunk of the tree, staring up at the branches. She'd worked hard on clearing her mind, finally calming herself. She hated being sixteen and female. Mood swings sucked, periods sucked, everything sucked.

She heard the crunch of leaves under booted feet, recognized the stride and weight as Zolf. She sighed. "If we ever get back... would you keep my secret?" she asked without preamble.

Zolf stood beneath her tree, looking up at her. "I would, Zel-sama, I would follow you to the death and keep any secrets you decided to tell me."

Zelda slowly turned her head to look down at him. "I would ask why, but it just might be looking a gift horse in the mouth," she said wryly.

The wizard smiled slightly, "Its called Friendship, Zel-sama... Zelda... You're still the same person, even if you're not what I thought you were. You're still the same half-kid that Rod and I taught poker to. You're a good leader, no matter what."

Zelda moved, straddling the branch, her hands flat on its wide surface, her hair glinting in the light of the setting sun. "Thanks," she said softly, "I'll try my best to be worthy of that kind of thing."

Zolf shook his head, "You already are," he said gently. "Though... it's going to be hard to adjust to thinking of you as a 'she'." Zelda laughed softly.

"Then don't. I only told you because you would have been told by that damn Leo Look Alike," Zelda shook her head, her usual stoic expression returning.

"Try and cheer up, your other self has managed well enough," Zolf pointed out.

Zelda's slit eyes focused on the wizard once again, "But he doesn't have a cure either. I can tell he's not happy. He might look like he is, but he's not." Zolf nodded, having to agree with her, simply because he'd seen it as well. "I'll try though... If I don't completely lose my temper with that damn Inverse."

Zolf leaned against the tree, sharing silence with her for a time. "I have to admit... you _are_ a good actor." Zelda smiled, closing her eyes.

* * *

Night fell and Zelda finally returned to find the Slayers plus Rodimus and Zolf having dinner. Lina and Gourry were fighting one another for various pieces while Zelgadis was sitting beside Amelia on the other side of the fire from Lina and Gourry. "Here, Mr. Zelgadis, this is a good piece," Amelia was saying as she put a piece of meat on his plate with her chopsticks.

"Thank you," Zelgadis replied, embarrassed because Rodimus and Zolf were staring at him.

Zelda sat on his other side, across from Rodimus, giving her double a long look then shrugged. When he wasn't looking, she stole his roll and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Hey! That was mine," Zelgadis frowned at her.

"Its Unjust to steal from people," Amelia said, raising her chopsticks.

"Even from yourself?" Zelda asked, putting a kink in the princess's hose.

"Well.... you're not in the same body so it would technically be stealing from someone else," Amelia replied then watched in dismay as Zelgadis swiped something from Zelda's plate.

"All's fair at the dinner table, just look at them," Zelda pointed her pinky at Lina and Gourry.

"Just because they have no manners doesn't mean that you two have to start doing it as well!" Amelia sniffed.

Zelgadis sniggered, putting his face in his hands, "Amelia- how many times have YOU fought Lina over the last meatball?"

"That was in self defense! Besides... it was after we were stranded on a ship with no food for seven days!" Amelia exclaimed.

"Stranded on a ship for seven days? I have _GOT_ to hear about this..." Zelda murmured, looking at Zelgadis and Amelia.

The princess pondered a moment, "Well, it started when this pillar of light showed up far out at sea. It was really far off, but we could still see it. Then we found out that the Mazoku Barrier had fallen so my father, Crown Prince Phillionel got together the leaders of all the other countries around to make a fleet of ships to sail beyond the desert to the south," Amelia started.

"Then I got a letter from some strange person named Filia Ul Copt, wanting to meet me," Lina continued, having fended Gourry off and knocked him out for the hour.

They continued, the story going from one prospective to another as the speaker changed. It took half the night to retell the tale of DarkStar's defeat and by that time Zelda had thought she'd gone into shock.

She slowly looked at Rodimus and Zolf, "I....think it would be a good thing to just give up on getting the Orihalcon statue. Leo Inverse can HAVE it!"

"You're still after that old thing?" Zelgadis asked, blinking at her, "Whatever you do, don't let Zolf try to cast Dragon Slave on Shabranigdo. It doesn't work. You need the sword of light and for Leo to cast Giga Slave to kill that piece."

"Are you sure my other self should cast Giga Slave? Maybe we should all go there and beat up Rezo before he resurrects the Dark Lord?" Lina said.

"Who?" Gourry asked.

Zelda cringed, "There's already a 'Gourry' there, Lina, are you sure you could handle TWO of him?"

Lina flipped her hand a little, "Oh sure, sure! No problem there!"

"The question, I think, is weather WE can handle two Lina's," Zelgadis muttered. "Can any restaurant in that world handle two Lina's as WELL as two Gourry's? Somehow, I don't think so."

"So we leave Gourry here!" Lina said then got glared at by Gourry.

"You're not leaving me anywhere! I'm your protector, remember?!" Zelgadis burst out laughing, as did Amelia. "What'd I say?" Gourry asked, confused then got hit.

"Since WHEN do YOU remember ANYTHING! Jellyfish brains!" Lina shouted, pounding her fist into his arm. He got off easy that time. Zelda exchanged a look with Zolf and Rodimus. "I say we go into the room where you guys appeared and see if there's still some sort of portal back to your world." Zelda reluctantly nodded, getting to her feet, the others followed suit. She certainly wasn't expecting to find anything and wasn't looking forward to trying to figure out the spell Rezo had used and recasting it.

They made their way down the dark hall to the dining room. Lifting her light spell high, Zelda looked over the room. "I really don't think-" she stopped when she saw a glimmer in the middle of the room. "Perhaps..." she murmured. It had seemed like such a slim chance when Lina had suggested it, but somehow it was there.

Lina peered carefully at the place in the air that was shimmering, occasionally crackling with magic energy. "I thought so. The space here has been ripped open and now the barrier is weak, all we have to do is cut it back open."

"And how are you going to do that?" Zelda asked, "Use the Sword of Light, which you seemed to have lost to the Overworlders?" Zelda was not being sarcastic; she was absolutely serious. She got glared at anyway.

"Lord of the dreams that terrify, sword of the cold and dark, free yourself from the heaven's bonds," Lina began softly, "Become one with my body, one with my power, and let us walk the path to destruction together." Zelda backed up from the redhead, watching as she lifted her hands up, her demons blood talisman glowing brightly. "Power that can smash even the souls of the Gods." Lina paused a moment, letting everyone back out of the space just in front of her, "Ragna BLADE!" She let the magic course though her, forming a blade made of black lightening that struggled in her hands as she lifted the huge weapon up and back, slashing though the space in front of her. The blade sizzled, cutting beyond the glimmer in the air and through the wall behind.

The wall shook and dirt sifted down from above. A rumble sounded from far above. "Shit! The whole place is going to crumble now!" Zelda shrieked.

"Then go through quick!" Lina called rather merrily as she dashed through the glowing opening. Zelda felt someone grab her hand and caught sight of Zolf in front of her before they ran though, emerging on the other side.

They were back in the dining room, but this one was not collapsing on top of them. Amelia coughed and wiped the dust from her face, or tried to. Zelgadis offered her a kerchief from his pocket. The otherworld dining room crashed into rubble, possibly taking the entire abandoned keep with it. A puff of dust came though the portal, covering them all with dust once again.

There was a crash as the dining room door burst inward, "Who's in here?!" shouted Dilgier as he strode in.

"Well, well, well, I hadn't thought Rezo was dumb enough to put YOU in charge," Zelda commented, seeing the shock on the disgusting beast's face.

"But- Rezo said- he said you were dead!" Dilgier exclaimed, backing up.

"Obviously I'm not, so report, Dilgier," Zelda snapped, one hand resting on her hip.

"We- I- sent berserks and trolls after Leo Inverse but he defeated them." He folded his green furred ears back, "I'm sorry Zel-sama." It was obvious he wasn't really that sorry for failing Zelda.

"Yes, you'd best be. Leave off Leo Inverse, our target is now Rezo," Zelda said, brushing forward, trailing some rock dust, "And see that my companions have rooms. Mind you, they are guests, not GUESTS." She gave Dilgier a long look and the troll-werewolf nodded meekly.

"Yes Zel-sama," he said, cowed. Once she was out of sight though, he growled.

"Oh boy! Just like old times," Lina exclaimed, drawling Dilgier's attention, "Can't we just kill him and be done?"

"No, Lina, Zel....sama is the one leading these troops, he decides who lives and dies," Zelgadis told the redhead.

Lina frowned, "Fiiine! As long as I get to fry Noonsa though!"

"Still upset that I killed him last time?" Zelgadis asked with a soft laugh, turning his attention to the troll-werewolf. "Dilgier, weren't you ordered to show us to rooms?"

The troll-werewolf slowly backed up, leading them back down the hall to the main room.

"-attempting to resurrect Shabranigdo, which we must stop. He knew that I knew something, that is why he tried to dispose of me as well as Zolf and Rodimus," Zelda was saying from the top of a set of stairs, all her troops gathered below her. "I ask those of you who are brave enough to follow me to step forward. Those who continue to follow Rezo... I will give you one day to get out of my range before I come after you."

The men and beasts gathered looked at each other and finally one man shouted, "I follow Zel-sama, to the end!" More shouts followed and a smile touched Zelda's lips as she looked upon them, she hated to keep the lie, but it was simply too many people who trusted her to reveal that sort of thing to.

Zelda held up her hands for silence, speaking again once she had it, "These are our new allies whom I have met during my time away. Lina Inverse, Princess Amelia Wil Tessa Seyruun, Gourry Gabriev, and.... my other self, Zelgadis." Zelda looked at Zelgadis, exchanging a long glance with them, her eyes narrowing a moment and he shrugged.

* * *

Zelda walked into the tavern she knew Leo Inverse and Glory Gabriev were having breakfast in, her hood pulled low and mask covering her face. She walked directly to the table the two were at, pulled out a chair and sat down as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Leo put down his plate and eyed what he thought was a man. "What do you want? You didn't bring any of your goons- what're you planning?"

Zelda spread her hands, leaning back in her chair, "Actually, I came to ask you if you wanted to do something that would guarantee that you gain plenty of treasure, fame, and maybe a few useful spells."

Leo tipped his head to the side, looking at Zelda from the corner of his eye, "How do I know you're not lying?"

"Simply because I know a lot of things about you. What you've done in the past, what you will do in the future. We can change the future, you know. It's all within your grasp," Zelda said softly.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the Sword of Light and other interesting magical objects. Maybe even Rezo's legacy."

Leo pushed himself forward, hands on the table, "Sword of Light, you say?"

"Yes, I know exactly where it is. You won't even have to sell it to me. Just come with me." Zelda almost held her breath, she hoped Leo would buy this. Leo leaned back in his chair. "I'll buy breakfast, as well as dinner," Zelda threw in the little bonus tidbit she'd been saving.

"You'll...buy breakfast? And Dinner?" Leo got a glint in his eye, "Deal!" he held out his hand. Zelda reluctantly took it.

"I'm glad we came to a deal. The fate of the world balances on the brink of destruction," Zelda said softly.

Leo frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Rezo is going to attempt to-"

"Resurrect Shabranigdo, yes, he told us that YOU were going to do it." Leo crossed his arms, frowning.

Zelda sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head, "No. His deal with Shabranigdo is that he gets his sight and the Dark Lord gets rebirth, a piece of him, anyway. The part Rezo doesn't know, is that he is blind for a reason. The piece of Shabranigdo he is going to resurrect is sealed in his eyes. When the Dark Lord is reborn, Rezo's body will become that of the Dark Lord's. We have to stop him before this happens, and you are part of the key to stopping him."

Glory scratched the back of her head, "Who's this Shabradingo?" Leo was about to throw something at the blonde but Zelda shook her head.

"No use explaining it to her... I've met someone just like her..."


	5. As you've probably guessed, these chapte...

"Wow

"Wow! You got them to come!" Gourry said when Zelda exited the town with Leo and Glory behind her, meeting the blonde man in a glade some distance from the town. The sun glimmered though the leaves above to shine on his hair where he was sitting on the ground, back against a tree.

"Yes, and I had to promise to buy them breakfast and dinner, I'm going to be so poor!" Zelda sighed, shoulders sagging.

"HEY! You promised THEM breakfast and dinner and not US?! How COULD you Zelda?!" Lina shouted, popping out of the bushes.

"Its NOT like I have a bag of gold that never runs out, Lina, give me a break!" Zelda pushed her hood back, shaking her head and running her fingers though her tangled wire hair in an attempt to cool off.

"Zelda?" Leo asked, "I thought- I thought you were a man! Rezo called you a 'he'!"

Zelda smirked, pulling her mask down as well, "And I thought you were too, of course, now I can tell the difference since I've seen the female you as well as the male you. Though I must say there's not much." There was silence a moment then Zelda shouted, "REI WING!" just as two fireballs hit the spot she'd been standing.

"Zelda! What did I tell you about saying things like that to Lina?" Zelgadis called up at her from where he was perched on a tree branch enjoying what breeze he could get.

"Absolutely nothing," she called back, landing safely now that Lina and Leo were busy gawking at each other.

Lina sniffed and flipped her hair. Leo folded his arms across his chest and glowered. Zelgadis sighed, "I have the feeling that they're not going to get along well." He slipped down from the tree, landing deftly on his feet.

"Whatever makes you say that? They're getting on just fine. At least they're not blasting each other," Zelda replied. Amelia slid closer to Zelgadis. "Gourry and Glory are getting along well enough." The two blondes were standing near each other, looking from the two redheads and back to one another. "Do we _have_ to get Prince Andrew involved in this?" Zelda reached up, picking a leaf from Zelgadis's hair.

Amelia sniffed, pouting some, "Yes! I wouldn't want to miss out on a chance to save the world, and neither would he!" She lifted her fist, going into a pose, "I may have missed my first chance to fight Shabranigdo, but I won't miss this one!"

"Oh bother..." Zelda muttered and Zelgadis patted her back.

"Zelgadis! You have to buy me and Gourry breakfast and dinner!" Lina suddenly exclaimed, the idea occurring to her.

The Chimera man looked at Lina for a long time, "What do I have to do that?" Zelgadis lifted one hand to his hip, his other hand resting on his sword hilt.

"Because! Zelda's buying THEM breakfast and dinner-"

"I'm hungry," Gourry broke in.

Glory blinked a few times, "Me too."

"YOU just ate!" Leo exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Glory.

"Yeah, but dessert would be nice," Gourry replied.

"NO!" Zelgadis and Zelda said at the same time. "Damn it, this really is a pain. If Shabranigdo weren't such a threat I'd just blast you all to hell," Zelda continued, stalking off into the woods, headed toward Seyruun's capital where they were to meet Zolf and Rodimus.

"Hey! You can't just walk off like that!" Leo exclaimed and ran after her. Glory followed her redhead, her mothering instincts saying that he was a kid and kids needed protecting. She was much taller then the sorcerer, as well as broad. It was somewhat hard to tell that she was a woman at all. Gourry blinked and jogged after his twin.

Lina shrugged and followed the two blondes, Zelgadis and Amelia moving last, "Traveling with her takes getting used to," Amelia commented. Zelgadis nodded agreement.

* * *

AN: Where's Naga, you might be asking? Not ANYWHERE nearby, we hope. Her male twin is Viper! The deadly snake! ;)

* * *

Zelda sat in her room after giving the innkeeper an entire bag of gold to pay for Leo and Glory's dinner. She sat on her bed, her elbows on her knees, face in her hands. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, hearing the crash and clatter downstairs that marked the feeding frenzy that was going on. She hadn't even had her nightly cup of coffee.

Moving finally, she lay on her side, tucking the pillow between her head and shoulder, hugging it somewhat, her feet still on the floor. Another crash followed by cursing caused the floor to vibrate. Zelda shifted again, putting the pillow on top of her head, holding it down with her arms.

Zelda didn't recall falling asleep, but she was awoken by someone taking her shoes off and gently pushing her legs onto the bed. Lifting the pillow off her face somewhat, she looked to see Zelgadis pulling the blanket over her. "What are you doing?" she asked softly, suspicious.

"Putting you to bed," he replied with a slight smile, perching on the edge of the bed. He reached over and pulled the pillow from Zelda's head, "Your hair's messed up," he said.

She made a noise, "Its always messed up, I don't bother brushing it anymore, no use..." Tears came to her eyes, unbidden, she tried to force them back, but thinking about her hair had called forth the reaction she'd suppressed for so long. "Why did it have to happen to me?" she squeaked, unable to keep her voice straight, her throat tight. Zelgadis looked sadly down at her then reached over, taking her shoulders and pulling her up by them, hugging her against his chest. "All- all I wanted ...was to be with him!" she sobbed into his shirt, arms curled between them. Her fingers clutched the loose fabric of his shirt, holding it, finding comfort in it. She could smell him, noted that he smelt like a manly version of herself.

"I know. I know," Zelgadis murmured gently, feeling the pain of that betrayal once again, but she needed soothing. Finally, she was able to pull herself together and lifted her face from his shoulder.

"Thank you," she said softly, hugging him tightly.

"Any time," he murmured, squeezing in return, unafraid that he would crush her with his strength.

Zelgadis held her until she fell asleep against him and gently laid her down, tucking the blanket around her before leaving. He closed the door carefully behind him.

Zelgadis turned to find Leo and Amelia standing in the hall, watching him. "That was so nice of you Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia gushed softly, her fists clenched under her chin, eyes wide and glittery with tears. Leo just eyed the Chimera man.

Zelgadis locked his eyes with Leo's. If Zelda didn't intimidate the redhead, he might be frightened by the male version. Instead, Leo returned the gaze then finally brushed past Zelgadis, going to his room. Amelia jumped and hugged Zelgadis before he could fend her off. Instead of even trying, he sighed, patting the princess's head.

* * *

Zelda walked down the stairs, running her fingers through her hair as she yawned. She opened her eyes to look at the table where everyone but her was sitting, looking at her. She stopped in her tracks, the clenching of her stomach was the only sign that she was worried, of course, no one could see that because her shirt was on. Zelda did a mental check. She was completely dressed, there was absolutely no way she could have zits, her hair was always a mess so there was no reason to stare. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked nervously.

Amelia suddenly grinned. "Surprise!!" she exclaimed when Zelgadis walked down the stairs just behind her, leering over her shoulder to see what was going on.

"Oh great," Zelgadis muttered. "Amelia, that was last week-" he started.

"But no one celebrated Zelda's birthday!" Amelia replied, beaming at Zelgadis as he pushed past his female self. Zelda's stomach clenched harder, she could swear that her stomach acids were eating her from the inside.

"B-birthday?" Zelda asked. "We don't have time for this!" she shouted at them but it was no use, the others were set on having cake and Zelgadis wasn't going to do anything about it. She was forced into a seat by Lina and Glory grinned.

"How old are you?" Gourry asked.

Zelda was fuming, "None of your damn business! What IS your business is how you're going to get away from me before I decide to give my sword a chance to kill some people." She surged to her feet, one hand grabbing the scabbard of her sword, the other on its hilt. "We are NOT having a party, is that clear! WE ARE GOING TO ATLAS CITY!" she roared at them, startling them all into meekness.

Shoving her chair back, she stomped toward the door. "Or at least _I'm_ going and you can sit here or not while Rezo resurrects Shabranigdo, its FINE by me." She turned, stalking out of the inn, the door slamming behind her. "Of ALL the nerve," she muttered.

Zelgadis shrugged, "She hasn't had the time to get used to you yet."

"Get used to us?!" Lina shrieked, heading after Zelda.

..."Blast them to oblivion and back even if I have to summon L-sama to do it," Zelda was muttering as she stalked down the street, headed toward the capital of Seyruun. "Zolf and Rodimus are probably there already. Why the hell didn't I let them come with me? Nooo had to go and let Zelgadis talk me into sending them on ahead just because he misses his old friends. Well..."

"Zelda," Lina called, the Chimera completely ignored her, continuing to mutter under her breath. Lina shook her head, so much like Zelgadis.

* * *

Zelda stood leaning against the wall of an inn, hearing the crashes inside that denoted the feeding frenzy inside. She was really getting tired of this. Even her male self didn't mind it but Zelda was absolutely fed up with it. She had pondered just taking off without them but she needed Lina Inverse and Glory Gabriev and with those two came the rest of them. There was no way to get the Sword of Light from Glory and Lina was the only one who had cast Giga Slave without destroying everything. Besides, Zelgadis had been through the whole episode before and knew what to expect.

The Chimera woman heaved a sigh, her arms folded on her chest, one foot back against the wall of the inn. Her hood was pulled low, her mask on, fingers tucked against her chest. She was glad her cape was silver, her shirt was light green, her pants a soft beige. Her pants were tucked into boots that came almost up to her thighs; they were white.

Zelda's eyes gazed at her chest, her breasts were even smaller then Lina's, people called her a 'he' on a regular basis, of course, her shirt was so loose that it hid any curves she could possibly possess. She wondered briefly what it would be like to wear a dress but pushed that thought aside.

A soft gust of wind fluttered her cape some but the bangs that hung in her face didn't move at all. Zelda's eyes were drawn to something white on the ground. Slowly, she bent down and picked it up. Brushing the dirt off the paper she read it.

****

ATTENTION!

All females interested are welcome to enter the SINGING CONTEST to be held in Atlas City! The prizes include money, jewelry, and for the white mages, a Claire Bible Manuscript!

Zelda pondered, "Claire Bible manuscript as a prize? What kind of fools are they?" She found herself looking for a date anyway. "That's in four days! We'll be there in three..." she glanced around, finally folding the paper and headed into the inn.

She saw that most of the dishes had been taken away and the feeding frenzy had finished. Stepping close to Lina, she nervously extended the paper.

"This had better NOT be a love letter from Gourry or something!" the sorceress exclaimed and snatched the paper, unfolding it and reading. "Claire Bible Manuscript?! Hey Zelgadis- wanna join a singing contest?"

Zelgadis looked interested, he swiped the paper from Lina's hand when she held it out to him "It's for females, Lina, if you hadn't noticed that part," Zelgadis pointed out, somewhat annoyed.

Lina slowly looked at Zelda, "So? You could still be in it."

"I don't sing, Lina," Zelda stated, folding her arms.

"Of course you do! I heard Zelgadis sing before! He's not that bad!" Lina replied while Amelia giggled.

Zelgadis looked annoyed, "Do I have to bring up the part about what YOU were dressed in at the time?" Lina glared.

"Oh dear L-sama, you were all drunk weren't you?" Zelda asked, giving Zelgadis a long disgusted look.

"No we weren't! I wish we HAD been though, then I wouldn't remember so clearly! At least I Dragon Slaved everyone for being witness to the whole fiasco," Lina replied, smirking slightly at Leo. "C'mon, Zelda, it'll be fun!"

"No! I will NOT let you make a fool of me!" Zelda replied firmly.

"Just give in, she's going to do it anyway, there's no way you can get out of it." Zelgadis sipped his coffee, "At least you're female so being dressed in women's clothing won't be so bad."

"WHAT?!" everyone who hadn't been there at the time stared at Zelgadis. His ears turned red in embarrassment.

Lina giggled as Amelia said with watery eyes, "He looked so pretty in a dress!" Gourry was blushing as well, sinking down in his chair, hoping that they would forget that he was there. Of course he remembered the two times he'd been dressed as a woman, there was no way he'd forget something THAT embarrassing.

"Besides, we're going to Atlas City anyway so we can do that while we're there," Lina said brightly.

"B-but-But Zolf and Rodimus would be there!" Zelda tried to argue.

"So?"

* * *

Zelda had to admit that she looked pretty, but she did not want to do this. Lina was going to sing as well, which didn't make Zelda feel any better. The sorceress was on the stage singing some silly song about 'tiny little breast'; Zelda wasn't paying attention.

"Don't worry, you look better in that dress then I did," Zelgadis told her, "at least you didn't have to stuff a bra." Zelda blushed deeply.

"Just shut up," she told him. He shrugged at her.

"Thank you Lina Reverse!" said the announcer and the audience clapped. "Now announcing Zelda Graywords!" Zelda felt like she was going to faint. All the people staring at her as she walked up the steps and across the stage to the microphone. Clasping her gloved hands in front of her tightly, she saw Zolf and Rodimus in the audience, looking directly at her.

Zelda's stomach clenched hard as the music started. Taking a breath, she looked down and started humming with the song for a moment to get her voice working. "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls, with vessels and serfs at my side," Zelda hesitantly sang, only the microphone caught her voice and magnified it. "And of all who assembled within those walls, that I was the hope and the pride," as she sang, she gained confidence, "I had riches all to great to count, and a high ancestral name." Her voice thankfully didn't crack, due to her usual control over it. In the back, she saw Zelgadis making arm motions. Taking the hint, she followed his lead.

"But I also dreamt which pleased me most, that you loved me still the same. That you loved me, you loved me, still the same. That you loved me, you loved me, still the same." Zelda stepped back from the microphone as she hit a high note to keep from blasting the audience.

"I dreamt that suitors sought my hand," Zelda held out her hand, one pressed to her chest. "-That knights upon bend-ed knee. And with vows that no maiden's heart could withstand they pledged their faith to me, and I dreamt that one of that noble host came forth, my hand to claim." She followed Zelgadis's movements as he danced around some, thankfully, he was standing behind the judges and they couldn't see him.

"But I also dreamt which charmed me most, that you loved me still the same. That you loved me, you loved me, still the same, That you loved me, you loved me, still the same!" Zelda held the last note almost to where the music ended and blushed deeply when everyone clapped for her.

Zelda hurried offstage and was met by Lina and Amelia, "That was so beautiful, Ms. Zelda!" Amelia gushed, eyes all starry.

"I didn't know you were a soprano," Lina said with a grin. "You were better then anyone else up there- except me of course!" Zelda continued to blush.

"I- I'm not that good..." she murmured.

"Yes you are," Zolf said as he came up behind her, Rodimus was grinning. "Where were you looking though?"

"Zelgadis was in the back..." Zelda admitted as Zelgadis stepped out of the crowd, "The judges will be mad if they find out..."

"They won't," Zelgadis said with a slight smirk.

"I wanna hear a duet of you two!" Lina exclaimed, pointing at the two Chimeras who blushed deeply.

"No, Lina, you're not going to get me to sing again," Zelda said firmly, crossing her arms.

"Either of us," Zelgadis told the sorceress.

"The judges have come to a decision!" The announcer called, unfolding his piece of paper carefully. "Third place- Jessica Kogner!" The ecstatic girl dashed up the stairs to take a bow. "Second place- Lina Reverse!" Lina sniffed, unhappy to only get second place but she went up the stairs to join the other winner. "And First Place goes to-" he paused a long moment, "ZELDA GRAYWORDS!"

Zelda's knees collapsed but Zolf caught her and helped her steady herself then pushed her toward the stairs. Nervously, Zelda went up the steps to be congratulated.

"So which prize do you choose?" asked the announcer as a table was wheeled out with the prizes on it.

"The Claire Bible Manuscript!" Zelda said into the microphone when it was held near her. The person who'd wheeled out the table handed her the book, which she immediately started going through.

"And you?" the announcer asked Lina.

"The MONEY!" Lina exclaimed all cute-like. She was handed a bag full of gold. The third girl was given the jewelry, which she'd wanted anyway.

They made their way offstage and Zelda took a breath, "!@$%&*(^%!" Amelia took a step back from Zelda. "It doesn't have a cure in it!" Zelda was ticked but let Zelgadis take the book as she stomped off to get changed back into her regular clothes.

Zelgadis opened the book and looked through it carefully, "It may not have a cure...But there's something else interesting." He managed to keep Lina from stealing the book as he read though the pages memorizing it quickly. "No, Lina, you wouldn't be able to cast this spell, it works with Shamanist magic, not black." Lina pouted.

Zelda returned, her hood pulled low over her face. Zelgadis told her to memorize the spell in the book quickly. "Why?" she asked.

"From my experience, Xelloss shows up about now and destroys the book," Lina said and Zelda sighed, doing as told. Once she was finished she stuffed the book into a pocket of her cape.

"Can we please just go get Andrew and hunt down Rezo?" Zelda asked, "I would really rather not stick around here anymore."

"Don't worry Ms. Zelda, Andrew is already here!" Amelia piped up.

"I came to congratulate the winner!" said a boy who, though taller then Amelia, was younger then her. He had large blue eyes and was dressed in a white tunic with a white cape and pants. "You sang with a heart full of Love and I'm SURE you're a great warrior of Justice!" the boy exclaimed, lifting a fist into the air as he posed.

"Here we go again..." Zelgadis muttered.

"What do you mean by THAT, Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked, glaring at him.

Said Chimera stared at her for a long moment, "Nothing Amelia," he smiled at her, of course that disarmed her completely. Andrew jumped down from the post he'd been posing on and grinned happily.

"So we're going on a quest to save the world?! WOW! That's so cool!" Andrew gushed.

Zelda closed her eyes, she knew already that Andrew was going to have a crush on her, Amelia had a crush on Zelgadis. It was one thing for the girl to be like that, but completely another for the guy. She felt tired. She wanted to disappear, but she couldn't because so many people knew her.

"Lets just get going," Zelgadis said when Lina returned from changing back into her regular clothes. "At least we won't have to fight Kopii Rezo and Zanafar.... if we do this right, anyway."

* * *

Zelda was in her room with Zolf and Rodimus perched on the edge of her bed. The Chimera was standing near the window, looking out onto the street. Once again, they were spending the night in an inn, this time, headed toward Rezo's laboratory in Siraag.

There was silence in the room, companionable, but Zelda's gestures spoke more then words. She was restless. Finally, she spoke. "I can't help but think something's about to happen."

"Why don't you go take a walk? Its dark, no one's out," Rodimus suggested. "We could come if you wanted."

"No, the others would probably think I'm trying to sneak off. That Leo doesn't trust me, still... Not that I trust him either." Zelda pushed her bangs away from her face but they fell back the way they'd always been as soon as she let them go.

Zolf smiled slightly, his mustache looked even more gray then it had ever before. "Be careful, Zel-sama," he said.

Zelda bowed her head briefly, "Like anything would dare challenge me." She swept up her cloak and tossed it over her arm as she headed out the door.

She paused at the table where the feeding frenzy had abated and said simply, "I'm going for a walk," then left. Leo shuffled to his feet, eyes narrowed, Zelgadis shook his head, getting up and forcing the sorcerer back into his seat.

"Is Ms. Zelda okay, Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked.

Zelgadis smiled at her, "She'll be fine, probably just restless."

* * *

She took her time, walking through the dark with her eyes downcast. Zelda reflected on how things had truly gotten hectic for her. As expected, Andrew got a crush on Zelda the moment he saw her. She almost wished she'd just stolen the manuscript from the winner instead of participating in that stupid contest. It had been nice to show her more feminine side, but she didn't like doing it in front of so many people.

The night was quiet. Clouds had descended upon the sky like hungry birds, blocking out the stars and the sliver of light that was the moon. She cast no shadow except where the occasional window was lit from within by candles. Even those windows were few and going dark as the night wore on.

Zelda came to the edge of town, looking out at the grass that was a silvery substance on either side of the dirt road that ran though the small town. Off in the distance, she saw dark huddled shapes that were a forest. She lifted a hand to wipe away her tears, sniffling as she did. Zelda pushed her hood back from her head and pulled down her mask, putting both hands to her face.

"What did I ever do?" she whispered softly as a breeze gently blew her cape against her legs, tears glittering on the rocks that surrounded her eyes. She tilted her head back to look up at the sky. "Rezo..." she whispered softly, "You were all I knew... and why did Shabranigdo pick you? I wish I didn't have to kill you. I don't want to. But you're already dead... the Rezo I knew is anyway." She folded her arms on her chest, continuing to stare up at the sky. Instead of the rolling clouds, she was seeing herself as she was, hugging Rezo's waist, his hand in her wild violet hair.

"You betrayed me."

Zelda blinked, spinning around, looking to see who had spoken. She knew it was Rezo. She knew that voice anywhere. "You turned me into a Chimera first," she replied, holding herself back from attacking him, though she didn't have to exercise that much self control to do so.

"I gave you what you wanted," Rezo said as he stepped out of the shadows, his staff clanking as he set it on the ground every few steps.

Zelda shook her head, "You cursed me. I never wanted this and you know it."

"How did you get back here?" he asked instead.

"I won't tell you that." Zelda held her hands firmly by her side, fingers curled into fists.

"You brought others with you," Rezo said softly.

"I did. They destroyed you and Shabranigdo in their world."

"Can they kill me combined with Zanafar?" Zelda knew Rezo's words were meant to frighten her, but she wasn't surprised, she'd heard about it from Zelgadis.

Zelda bowed her head, "Yes, they can. They've beaten monsters far more powerful then you. And even if you did become more powerful, we have Leo Inverse who has just as much power as Lina Inverse who killed you. Both of them working together will be enough to stop you." She lifted her head to look at him. He wasn't smiling.

Slowly, Rezo lifted a hand, stepping forward and touching Zelda's face. "You've been crying," he said softly. She did not reply as he gently wiped her tears away with his fingers. She hadn't let him touch her again after he'd changed her into a Chimera. "You know my sight is important to me. I want to see you."

"And see the mess you made," Zelda said softly in return, she'd meant to speak acidly, but it didn't come out that way, "Shabranigdo is sealed in your eyes, that's why you can't heal them. If they were to open, the Dark Lord would be freed."

Rezo's hand stiffened a moment. "And you learned this from those you brought?"

"Yes." There was silence between them. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I wanted to see you look at me as much as you wanted to look at me. Please.... don't do this. Don't make me kill you." Zelda's voice broke and more tears fell from her eyes onto Rezo's fingers as they were still touching her face. "Rezo... I- I still love you..." Slowly, she stepped forward, putting her face against his chest and her arms around his waist, feeling his hand slide into her hair.

"What...have I done..?" he asked rhetorically.

Zelda sniffled, "A lot of bad things, but there's still time to change. I- I can forgive you- with time..."

"FIREBALL!" a familiar voice shouted. Zelda shoved herself in between Rezo and the volley, putting up a shield. "I should have known you weren't on our side!" Leo Inverse accused after the flames died down.

"You stupid little punk. Can't you ever mind your own business?!" Zelda shouted back at him, awakening people in the nearby houses.

"Don't make me Dragon Slave you," Leo warned.

"Zel-sama?" Zolf called as they ran down the street, Lina Inverse and the others behind him.

"Zelda... who is here," Rezo asked softly.

"Leo Inverse, Lina Inverse, Zolf, Rodimus, Prince Andrew, his double Princess Amelia, Glory and Gourry Gabriev, and my double Zelgadis," she replied quickly.

"Zelgadis," Rezo called, "Come here." The Chimera man hesitated for a long moment, glancing at the others, then finally made the decision. "You defeated me in your world, did you not?" Rezo asked, his blind face turned toward the direction he'd heard footsteps in.

"Yes," Zelgadis replied softly, "And we can defeat you again."

"Is it true that Shabranigdo is sealed in my eyes?" Rezo asked, his fingers tightening on his staff.

"Yes. Lina, myself, and Gourry witnessed Shabranigdo take over your other self's body and change it into his own."

"And how did you defeat Shabranigdo?"

Zelgadis paused a moment, glancing over those gathered, "Lina used the Sword of Light as a power boost and cast Giga Slave." Rezo was silent, his face gone pale. "She knows the danger of casting that spell now," Zelgadis said softly. "Doesn't stop her from using it anyway." He refrained from telling Rezo how his own double had helped Lina control the Giga Slave when she'd cast it the first time.

Rezo was silent, his head bowed slightly, his fingers curled tightly on his staff. Zelda reached out, placing her hand over his, taking his other hand and forcing his fingers open to touch her face. "Rezo... fight him... fight the Dark Lord, if not for me, then for yourself. You're stronger then to let something so terrible rule you."

"Umm, what's going on?" Glory finally asked. Lina jumped on the swordswoman, beating her head.

"You stupid Jellyfish! Yogurt brain! Baka!- oops.. you're not Gourry." Lina fell off the girl's back, Glory sniffled, tears in her eyes.

Rezo smiled slightly, hearing what was going on, his hand moving to pet Zelda's hair. "You are right... I can't let the Dark Lord rule me." He shook his head slightly. "I'd come to see if you would join me and I end up joining you." Zelda could tell he was sad though.

Zelgadis was glaring daggers at Rezo, "Well if you're on our side, how about changing Zelda and I back into humans?" he spat.

The Red Priest turned his face toward Zelgadis, "I'm afraid that I cannot. It is about as unattainable as my sight."

"Don't worry Ms. Zelda! You look cool the way you are!" Andrew exclaimed and got a long look from the older Slayers group as well as Zelda.

"I recall hearing that somewhere before," Zelgadis murmured, looking at Amelia who blushed.

"Great minds think alike?" the princess offered.

Zelda glowered. "Hey, don't we have that weird rock?" Gourry asked, "The one in the statue?" Lina fell on her face.

"Gourry... may I ask HOW you remembered that?" the sorceress asked from the ground.

He grinned, "Gee, I don't know!" Lina sighed.

"Perhaps, though, there might be a way," Rezo said softly, "If you do have the Philosopher Stone then perhaps I could find a way to turn you both back into humans and ...possibly even remove the sealing on my eyes."

"That would still involve letting Shabranigdo loose, Rezo," Leo pointed out, still not ready to trust anything that was going on. The Red Priest smiled at the young sorcerer.

"We have you, though, and you supposedly have the power to destroy a part of Shabranigdo. Perhaps we should go to my laboratory?" Rezo turned his face toward Zelda. "Draw a circle large enough for everyone to stand in."

"Now wait a moment!" Leo started but was ignored by Zelda who worked at shoving everyone together then drawing a circle on the ground with her sword tip. "This had better not be a trick, Rezo!" Leo said pointedly.

"Yes, you wouldn't want to see either of us when we're mad," Lina added, smirking slightly, arms folded on her chest.

"Hardly, Inverse," Rezo replied, stepping into the circle with Zelda's help. Holding his staff in both hands, he began murmuring a spell. Light flashed from the end of his staff, creating a dome over the group, its circumference was the circle drawn in the dirt. Electricity snapped over the dome's surface then the scene faded to be replaced by that of Rezo's laboratory in Siraag.

* * *

"Lord Rezo?" Eris called, having heard the mini-thunderclap from the main room, the sound of the teleport spell displacing air in the room. She had been busy dusting things off in the storage area.

"Yes, Eris, it is I," Rezo called. Lina shivered.

"Last time we met her, she was rather insane as well... I just hope we don't meet those two jerks who tried to get us here last time," Lina muttered as Eris came around a shelf and gasped. She had only expected to find Zelda and Rezo standing in the center of the giant magic circle that was carved on the floor.

A sad smile touched Rezo's lips, "I brought some guests," he gestured at the pack behind him. Zelda didn't look amused.

"Grandfather, please try not to get overly engrossed in your work," Zelda said softly, "If you send us to the surface I'll take them to an inn-"

"Oi! We can go see Sylphiel!" Gourry exclaimed. "She has great cooking." Glory nodded in agreement.

"We will all go to my house," Rezo stated, though it was more of a mansion then a house, but he didn't know the difference. "Come Eris." The black haired girl stepped forward to stand near Rezo as he cast the spell again, this time causing the scene to change to that of his house. "Eris, show them all to rooms."

"Lord Rezo, I don't think there's enough," Eris replied.

"Gourry and I can share, Amelia and Lina can share," Zelgadis said, causing Eris's attention to be drawn to him. "Zolf and Rodimus, Leo and Andrew, Glory and Zelda."

Eris saw Rezo's nod, "Yes sir," she said softly, leading them all to rooms.


	6. My characters talk too much u.u;;; Was t...

"So Zelgadis," Gourry said, where he was laying on the bed, Zel had insisted on taking the floor

"So Zelgadis," Gourry said, where he was laying on the bed, Zel had insisted on taking the floor. "You been here before?"

Zelgadis sighed, "Yes Gourry. I lived here off and on." He noted that Glory and Zelda had gotten the room he'd always stayed in. Gourry's snores brought Zelgadis out of his thoughts. He sat up, looking around the room, then finally got to his feet, slipping out the door, carefully closing it behind him.

He looked around, his bare feet making no noise on the floors. Zelgadis wandered around the first floor a while before he found himself standing outside of Rezo's open door. There was no light within, but he could hear breathing from the bed. Slowly, he paced in, watching the shape on the bed.

"Sit down, Zelda," Rezo murmured.

"I'm Zelgadis, or have you forgotten?" Zel replied softly.

Rezo was silent. "You sound like her. Come then, sit." The Red Priest sat up and moved, putting his back against the headboard of the bed. Zelgadis didn't move for a long moment, then finally came forward to crouch on the end of the bed. "Come closer, Zelgadis. You probably know I like to touch those I'm talking to."

"I know," Zelgadis said softly. "It's taken me almost six years to learn to trust again. I can't trust you though."

Rezo was silent, his fingers picking the fuzz off the top blanket. "Would it help if I apologized?" the Red Priest asked, wishing the darkness for him would be lifted.

"I don't know," Zelgadis replied softly.

"I am sorry for what I did. I hadn't....realized how much it would hurt you. You wanted strength, I needed someone who I could trust to get the Philosopher Stone." Rezo wanted to say that to Zelda, but Zelgadis was the same as Zelda, he simply spoke as if he had been the one to change Zelgadis. Perhaps it would help the boy. "After that, you wouldn't let me touch you. I didn't know what my meddling had done to you, I couldn't SEE it."

"You turned me into a monster."

"Isn't there more to a monster then just appearance, Zel?" Rezo fell back on the nickname.

Zelgadis was silent, "I....don't know," he said finally.

Rezo sighed. "Do _I_ look like the monster I am? Does either Leo or Lina look like they're as powerful as they truly are?"

The Chimera was silent, "You have a point."

"Of course I do. It is what is inside that makes you a monster or not. If you believe you are a monster, then that proves that you are human. A monster wouldn't care how he looks."

Rezo was astonished to hear Zelgadis laugh softly, "Don't say that to Xelloss... He would be upset."

"Xelloss? Priest-General of Beast Master?" Rezo asked.

"The same. He tagged along with Lina for quite some time... probably feeding off my depression and her easy temper." Rezo felt the bed moving and moved his arm, letting Zelgadis settle next to him, the young man's head on the priest's shoulder.

"You've grown," Rezo murmured, laying his cheek against Zelgadis's head.

"Slowly..." Zelgadis agreed.

"I'll find a way." Rezo's words caused Zelgadis to stiffen, "I'll find a way to change you back. Both of you." Zel relaxed again, his eyes falling closed. "I wish... I could have been a better grandfather."

"You were fine until..."

"I was never there. Always off helping others." Rezo sighed softly, petting his fingers along Zelgadis's hair.

Zel grunted softly, "That's what I loved about you. You were always willing to give yourself to help others. I just wanted to come along. I just wanted adventures."

"Go to sleep Zel," Rezo commanded softly, "Tomorrow will be a long day."

"Yes...Grandfather," Zelgadis murmured, heaving a breath.

* * *

Zelgadis found himself standing in the glade he had always trained in, swinging his sword around in unpracticed moves, more like swinging an axe around then the sword he truly held. He heard the clang of Rezo's staff behind him and turned to look upon the Red Priest's face.

"You want to be strong?" asked the priest.

Zelgadis watched, realizing that the dream had changed, Rezo did not lift his staff and level it at the boy, instead, he waited silently, "I want to be with you, Grandfather," Zelgadis answered finally. "I want to help you, but I don't want to be a Chimera."

"Do you forgive me then?" Rezo asked, his eyes opening, blue irises looking down upon the boy, pleading for forgiveness.

Zelgadis bowed his head, "I trusted you..."

"Do you forgive me?" Zel lifted his face, stepping over the log that lay between them. "I'm sorry, Zelgadis," Rezo said softly, his staff falling to the ground as he let it go, holding his grandson/great grandson against his chest. "I'm so sorry."

"I forgive you."

* * *

Zelgadis woke with a jolt when someone jumped on the bed near him. "HI Zel!" Lina said. "What are you doing in Rezo's bed?"

He blinked a few times, looking around and finding the priest gone, himself laying diagonally on the bed with part of the blankets over him. It was morning. "I...." he started to say then caught Lina's smile.

"I understand," she said, "Breakfast is ready, Rezo sent me to get you." Lina slipped off the bed and out of the room. Zelgadis smiled slightly, running his hand through his hair and stretching. Sometimes Lina could be annoying, other times, she was one of the greatest friends he ever had.

Sliding off the bed, he made his way into the dining room. He wasn't that surprised to see Eris working hard at making enough pancakes to feed four human black holes as well as a few others. He simply grabbed two coffee cups and poured. Zelda came in moments later and blinked when Zelgadis handed her one of the cups of coffee.

"Thanks..." she said softly and went to sit somewhere. Zelgadis sat beside Rezo, sipping his black coffee and contemplating.

"I should put a bell on you," Rezo said softly, "That way I can tell which one of you it is." He smiled at Amelia, "Go on," he said.

Amelia continued talking at a somewhat rapid fire pace about how they defeated Kopii Rezo and Zanafar. "But you're a lot nicer!" she said happily. Zelgadis choked on his coffee. "Are you okay Mr. Zelgadis?" He continued to cough, though it sounded more like laughing at times. Zelda was sitting on the other side of the table, turned slightly to the side, and legs crossed. One elbow rested on the table, her forehead resting on her hand. Andrew was beside her, beaming in the usual Life Is Wonderful expression.

Rezo smiled, calmly eating his breakfast, though he was disturbed by the occurrences in other dimensions. He was inwardly glad he'd tested his spell on Zelda, it would certainly keep a lot of terrible things from happening here.

He pushed his plate aside and heard Gourry ask him, "Are you gonna eat that, Ribo?"

"His name is REZO, Gourry," Zelgadis growled but silenced himself when the Red Priest waved his hand.

"Go ahead." Rezo continued to sit in silence, listening to the Inverse-Gabriev feeding frenzy.

"Lord Rezo...?" Eris asked softly, "Are you feeling well? You look tired."

Rezo simply shook his head, "I just didn't sleep well last night." He was unaware of Zelgadis's blush. "I'll be fine." Once again, he was silent, contemplating. When he heard the satisfied belch of Leo Inverse and the happy sighs of the others, he spoke. "Lina, Zelgadis, I would like you two to help me today. The rest of you, find something to occupy yourselves with that doesn't involve blowing up the city..."

Zelgadis sighed, "You have Lina under supervision, Leo's another story..."

"What was that?!" Leo asked, jumping on top of the table, a fireball ready.

"You heard me. Your reaction proves my point." Zelgadis sipped his coffee calmly and Lina sniggered. "Sit down before you break the table and tick Eris off." Leo growled and muttered under his breath as he sat down. "Lina, I've been around you too long.. I know exactly what to say to piss you off."

Lina winked, "And I know exactly what to do to make you blush!" She was rewarded with a glare and blush. "Ouu, Zelgadis has a dirty mind!"

"LINA!!"


	7. Nonono!! anything but that!

Zelda hadn't really drank the coffee, she simply pretended to and set it aside when no one was watching her

Zelda hadn't really drank the coffee, she simply pretended to and set it aside when no one was watching her. Thankfully Zelgadis, Leo, and Lina distracted the others enough for them to never notice. She had the strange suspicion that there was something wrong. Rezo seemed forced, his entire mood and expression. She had the awful feeling that her breakdown in front of him had meant nothing to him.

"Zelda," Rezo said softly, "Why don't you go shopping today? I'm sure Eris wouldn't mind going with you."

The Chimera girl swallowed her usual comment about hating to do things like that and looked narrowly at Rezo, "Of course," she said pleasantly, a master at controlling her voice. Rezo bought her answer and got up, gesturing for Zelgadis and Lina to follow him.

Once they were outside, Zolf and Rodimus approached her side at her gesture. "Tie up Eris," she ordered coldly, "Make sure she can't do any magic either."

"Wait a second! You can't do that!" Andrew protested as the wizard and weapons master did as told, perhaps a bit more roughly then necessary.

"Just as I thought, you're not really on our side at all, are you?" Leo asked, arms folded across his chest, standing in a rather belligerent pose. "What are you up to Zelda?"

She looked at him coldly, "I have no obligation to tell you my plans." Her eyes flicked toward Eris, who had been knocked out and blindfolded as well as gagged. "But I will."

"How generous of you."

Zelda stalked forward, coming to look down her nose at Leo, "Then again, I won't. Zolf, Rodimus, take care of things here. I'll just be borrowing this," she said the last to Glory as she swiped the Sword of Light forcefully from the blonde's grasp.

"Hey! That's been in the family for generations-" Gourry exclaimed.

"It's needed elsewhere," Zelda said bluntly, turning and bounding out the door after Rezo. Her heart beat rapidly as she stalked the three. Lina was trying desperately to chat with Rezo but the Red Priest wasn't responding to her overtures. Zelgadis was silent, walking behind the two, he glanced back once, straight at Zelda who was peeking around a corner in the labyrinth under Rezo's house. She held up the empty hilt of the Sword of Light and he nodded slightly, then continued onward with Lina and Rezo.

Rezo walked silently with a slight smirk on his lips. Finally, they entered the lowest chamber of his laboratory. Moving to the middle of the room, he turned, facing Lina and Zelgadis and subsequently Zelda. "Come out Zelda, I know you followed me." Lina gasped and turned around as Zelda stalked out, holding the Sword of Light behind her back.

As Zelda stalked toward Rezo, she bumped roughly into Lina and firmly pressed the empty hilt into the girl's hands. "Now we can get to work," Rezo said, "Give me the Philosopher Stone, please?"

"Um, I don't think that was part of the plan-" Lina interjected.

"I SAID GIVE IT TO ME!" Rezo roared. "But if you won't give it willingly, I will use my Ace against you." He smirked, "You see, it was my plan to make Zelda follow us."

Lina looked at Zelgadis then back to Zelda in horror. Rezo now had TWO Chimeras under his control. She clutched the Sword of light tightly. "Then I'll have to use MY Ace! Light Come Forth!" The huge blade of the Sword of Light shot forth, forming in her grasp.

"What?! No matter! You won't defeat me simply because you wouldn't kill your friend." He began to laugh, "now hand over the Philosopher Stone!"

Zelda stood with her eyes closed for a long moment, tears gathering at the corners. Reaching slowly, she gripped the hilt of her sword, sliding her hand down its length then gripped the sheath, preparing to draw the blade. "I'm... sorry... I have no friends," she said softly to Lina and Zelgadis, stepping forward to stand beside Rezo, her head bowed somewhat as she pulled forth her sword.

"Zelda- you can't!" Zelgadis objected but couldn't get her to look at him.

Lina narrowed her eyes. "She's only trying to make it easier, Zel. One or more of us is going to die here."

"But this isn't the way to do it!"

Zelda felt the power building beside her and refused to look at the one who she knew would cause her death. She gripped her hilt tighter and slid one foot back in a stance. The spell hit her then, ensuring her cooperation, causing her eyes to glow blood red. She did not move seeming more then to take a breath.

"Kill them and give me what you promised. Give me the Philosopher Stone," Rezo commanded.

Without a sound, she swept forward to attack Lina but her blade was met firmly by Zelgadis's, though he too felt the pull of the spell. Suddenly, he sprang away, leaving Zelda to stagger forward a few paces before a fireball hit her, sending her back through the air. Her sword clattered to the floor after she'd slid some on the marble.

"Get up!" Rezo snapped in agitation when Zelda did not move. Slowly, she forced herself up, picking up her sword and running forward.

Lina gasped in fear as she saw her death coming at her at full speed. Zelgadis's eyes opened wide and he moved to pull Lina out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough for the result of Zelda's blind rush.

"BURSTRONDO!" Lina screamed, firing the volley at Zelda who never had the chance to dodge and was sent flying back once again, this time into Rezo who's shield crackled up and electrified his own Chimera in mid air.

With a crash, she hit the ground again and didn't move. The Red Priest focused his attention on Zelgadis then, enforcing the control spell as he walked forward. "Lina-" Zelgadis gasped as he collapsed to his knees, clutching his head.

"Now, you will kill her and give me the Sword of Light as well as the Philosopher Stone. Kill her Zelgadis!" Rezo hissed, slamming the butt of his sword into the floor, causing a clash of the rings on the head.

Zelgadis staggered to his feet once more, clutching his sword, Lina shook her head, "Don't make me do this! Zel!" she cried, seeing Zelda slowly moving behind Rezo.

"You could give me what I want and they will live, or you will be forced to kill them."

Lina saw his plan now. She hadn't realized it. No one else had realized until too late. She only hoped that a Ragna Blade would work. She shoved the hilt of the Sword of Light into her belt and began to chant the spell for Ragna Blade. The spell's shield immediately enveloped her, protecting her from the blast Rezo sent at her.

"RAGNA BLADE! Let's see how you stand up to Nightmare Magic, Rezo!" she yelled over the crackling black lightning of her magic born sword. Swinging it up and back she slashed at Rezo.

With dismay, she saw him dodge back with a speed she never knew a blind man could possess, his staff, however, didn't fair as well. It was sliced in half, leaving him with the lower end. He cast it aside and it hit Zelda across the back, causing her to collapse again.

"Zelgadis! Attack!" Rezo shouted to the male Chimera who darted forward, sword ready.

He swung at Lina, but had to dodge as she brought the Ragna Blade around, cutting his sword off at the hilt. Cursing, he sprang back, dropping the useless piece and went over to Zelda, shoving her aside to pull the sword out from under her body. "Flow Light," Zelda whispered softly.

Suddenly, everything went silent, then the scene broke. The walls cracked like an eggshell. All the magical items burst into millions of pieces to never be recovered. Lina's spell faltered then went out, as did Rezo's building spell and his control over Zelgadis. The roof began to cave in rather suddenly.

"LINA!" Zelgadis shouted, letting her know he wasn't being controlled any longer. He kneeled over Zelda's limp body as a piece of the ceiling crashed down between the redheaded sorceress and her friend.

"Rei Wing!" Lina shouted, the effect of the very powerful 'Flow Broke' spell having worn off within seconds. Lina was glad to note that her demons blood talisman hadn't shattered as well. She would have been very upset if they had. As it was, she was very upset. Lina was upset about being forced to save herself instead of going to see if Zelgadis and Zelda were still alive. She dodged falling pieces of the laboratory as it collapsed upon itself. Apparently having been built with magic or held together by it.

She burst into sunlight as a great cloud of dust gushed upward from below her. Looking down, she saw what remained of Rezo's laboratory and almost cried. "Zel..." she whispered softly.

Off in the distance, she saw another figure coming rapidly toward her. She feared it was Rezo, but as the figure drew closer, she saw it was Leo. "What happened?!" he shouted.

"Rezo had planned for Zelda to follow. He had control of both Zelgadis and Zelda then I guess Rezo's control of Zelda slipped and she was able to cast a very powerful version of Flow Broke. That's the result." Lina gestured down at the settling dust.

"What about her?" Leo asked nervously.

Lina refused to look at him, "I don't know, I lost sight of them when the ceiling caved in..."

"The rest of us are this way." Leo said and guided Lina back to where the group had gathered on the ground in the settling dust, though they were on the outermost edge and the particles weren't as thick.

Zolf was standing nervously, watching as Lina and Leo landed, Rodimus had firm hold of Eris. Amelia had her hands clasped together as were Andrew's. Lina couldn't meet their eyes and opted for staring at the ground.

Amelia burst into tears and threw herself on Andrew who comforted her as best he could.

"No need to get emotional, Amelia," a calm soft voice stated as he walked out of the settling dust cloud. He had pulled his mask over his face to keep out the dust, there was something slung over his shoulder, wrapped in a silvery cloak. Once he was within the group, he crouched, letting his burden to the ground carefully.

"Is...she?" Rodimus asked softly, looking upon the still figure who's face was hidden by part of her cloak.

Zelgadis sighed, "That spell... it fed off astral energy, she gave it all she had." Amelia could tell that Zelda's death had effected him, "I think she'd planned that the whole time."

A though suddenly occurred to Lina and she pulled out the Sword of Light and narrowed her eyes at it. "Shit. That spell was powerful enough to make this go out too!" She threw the empty hilt away in disgust. "This bites! Not only do we have to fight Shabranigdu still, cause I DOUBT he died in that, but we also don't have the Sword of Light. At least we have the Philosopher Stone though, as long as we have that, his power can't be released-" she suddenly caught the look Zelgadis was giving her. "Don't tell me... He swiped it from you. DAMN IT!" Lina stomped her foot hard on the ground.

Zelgadis turned toward Zolf and Rodimus then, "Things have certainly changed, and I ask you to take Zelda away from here and don't come back. You'll only end up getting yourselves killed if you stayed here." He stared at them until they reluctantly gave in then turned toward Andrew. "You will go with them. You're as yet too unskilled to survive. Lina, Gourry and myself have been though this before, we know what could happen. You would only upset your father- or mother, whichever the Crowned heir is in this place." Zelgadis leveled his stare at the prince then, forcing him into acceptance of the order as he'd done Rodimus and Zolf.

Lina nodded firmly. "Alright, guys, lets go." She turned then, taking hold of Glory and casting levitation, lifting them up above the cloud of dust that still hung in the air like haze. Zelgadis did the same to Gourry, leaving Leo to carry himself as was Amelia.

Zolf hung his head and sighed. "In the end, we weren't there like we'd promised to be..." He watched as Rodimus knelt to take the body into his arms and leave as they'd been ordered. He pulled his hand back after his grip had been met with almost no resistance.

Rodimus carefully peeled back the cloak, his eyes widening. "What? What's wrong, Rodimus?" Zolf asked, coming around to look over the weapons master's shoulder. He turned pale at what he saw. Rodimus quickly pulled the cloak back in place to keep Andrew from seeing and shook his head.

"You don't need to see, boy, I wish I hadn't seen." Rodimus was pale as he lifted the body in his arms once again, feeling it sag strangely in his grasp. Blood dribbled down from the edge of the cloak, pooling on the ground.

"Let's just leave that woman here," Zolf said and eyed Eris narrowly before practically dragging Andrew away with them.

* * *

Zelgadis stared straight ahead, remembering what Zelda had last said to him, recalling her last moments of life. How she'd looked at him, blood almost gushing from her face. Even stone couldn't resist the force of magic or lack of it. Her body was falling apart as he watched. He'd managed to Rei Wing them to safety, but she wasn't going to survive.

"H- have...a family... for me?" she asked softly, tears trailing through the blood as her stone skin disintegrated like dust.

"I promise," he'd whispered to her as she shuddered and the breath left her. He'd taken her cloak and rolled what was left of her body into it after that.

He was shaken back into reality as Shabranigdu rose up out of the dust to laugh at them. "Puny fools! You cannot destroy me! Your key to killing me was the Sword of Light and now it is gone!"

They changed course to land in a clear area away from the city of Siraag and Flagoon. Lina looked at her companions quickly, taking in their moods by their body language. She saw that Amelia was frightened but resolved, Leo showing false bravado, Gourry and Glory were simply too stupid to realize what was going on. It was Zelgadis who worried her. He seemed very shaken and almost unable to stand.

"Okay guys, distract Shabranigdu while I chant the spell."

"But you said nothing works against him!" Leo argued.

Zelgadis spoke slowly, as if emerging from somewhere deep. "She said distract." He gripped Zelda's sword, though it looked exactly like his, he could feel the difference.

"Emekial Lance!" Amelia shouted, shooting her volley at the piece of the Dark Lord. Her spell was easily deflected but it served as the distraction and a sign for the battle to start.

"Darkness beyond the blackest pitch," Lina murmured softly as her comrades worked to shield her as well as distract Shabranigdu as asked.

Zelgadis griped his spell firmly then threw it at Shabranigdu with a shout, "Flare Arrow!" The arrows shot forward and dissipated against the Dark Lord's side.

"Fireball!" Leo shouted, then dodged as Shabranigdu cast a spell, causing the ground to turn to mud. "Shit!" He looked over at Lina, who was still casting her spell even if she was sinking into the ground at an alarming rate.

"By the power you and I possess-" Lina shouted, her demons blood talisman glowing brightly as she used them to amplify her power. "GIGA SLAVE!!!"

Lina stared as the dark force she'd gathered around her glittered outward, surrounding the entire area in blackness that seemed to glow at the same time. She feared that she'd miscast the spell and tried to hold onto it as it spread. "Please! L-sama!" she begged, "Let me win!"

A shock ran through the ground, throwing her off her feet and into the mud that was still there, though she didn't sink into it like she had been. Another shock hit her and the thought that she may have lost flitted through her mind just before she blacked out.


	8. Epilogue(SP?) ^_^

"NO Gourry

"NO Gourry! That's MINE!" Lina smashed the swordsman across the face and snatched the chicken leg from his hand with her mouth. Zelgadis sat across the table from them, sipping his coffee idly, pretending not to notice them. Amelia sighed, smiling happily, Andrew beside her as were Zolf and Rodimus. On Gourry's other side were Leo and Glory, having their own food war.

There was a marked difference at the table though, Zelgadis was more sullen then normal and over half of the people at the table were the same. Zelgadis flicked his gaze up from his newspaper toward the table then looked back down. There was a large reprint of a sketch of Shabranigdu facing six people. The story was the biggest of the century. 'Dark Lord slain in backyard! Six warriors overcome the greatest evil alive.' Of course, the story was completely inaccurate and didn't mention that Rezo had been the one to summon the Dark Lord, nor did it mention Zelda's death.

Zelgadis closed his eyes, knowing very well that Zelda wouldn't have wanted an orbit or anything marking her death. He finally set his coffee aside and folded the paper, digging in his pocket as he stood. Most gave him no mind as he stood, only Amelia, Zolf, and Rodimus looked.

Reaching down, Zelgadis pulled Amelia to her feet, looking at her for a long moment, seeing the confusion in her eyes as he kneeled down in front of her, clutching her hands between his. "Amelia... Marry me."

Amelia realized what he'd pressed between her hands when he'd taken them, her jaw dropped when his soft voice broke through the clatter of dishes and snarls as the beasts called Inverse and Gabriev fed. Silence crashed over the group like a ton of bricks, waiting for Amelia's answer.

"...Yes..." she whispered, her voice refusing to work, but the word seemed to echo through the small tavern. The entire tavern burst into applause as Zelgadis returned to his feet, blushing as he removed the ring from Amelia's palm and slipped it on her finger instead.

Amelia threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Hey! Bring some champagne!" Lina yelled at the barkeep and called the toast once it and enough glasses for everyone arrived. "To Amelia and Zelgadis, may their marriage be happy and fruitful!" With that, they all drank, Amelia now sitting much closer to Zelgadis then before, her hands locked on his.

Zelgadis bowed his head somewhat, closing his eyes. _Rest in peace, Rezo, Zelda... I'll keep my promise to you, Zelda, I guess I'd just needed an excuse._

THE END

AN: Were you expecting something DIFFERENT?!? ^_^


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